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The Pu'u O'o eruption began on January 3 1983 and has continued since then. Most flows have come from the Pu'u O'o vent except for a period form 1986 to 1991 when flows shifted to the Kuipaianaha vent |
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The Cone was original built up with fire fountaining. The summit collapsed in 1997 and a times the large crater has contained a lava lake. Lava flows from the vents toward the sea. For the most part this is not visible on the surface but it's presence underground is often marked with gas plumes at places of the lava surface |
| At the present time the surface within the crater is crusted
over and molten lava is visible through a number of vents on the surface.
We managed to look down these into the lava lake below . The vents have
built splatter cones above the surface of the crater.
There is a Web Cam which provides regular updates of the crater
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| The lava from Pu'u O'o is fed through lava tubes all the way to the coast. Most of the lava is the rapid moving Pahoehoe type with smooth surfaces. Where the lava is slower moving the flow type often develops and rough A'a type. The lava covers an extensive area down slope from the vent and earlier had overrun the Royal Gardens subdivision (lower two photos). |  |
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| Where the lava reaches the sea it emerges from the lava
caves and cascades and flows into the sea. The gas mixture is
dominated by steam but includes hydrochloric acid and sulphur dioxide.
At the time of our visit as illustrated by our photographs, the flow into the sea was quite vigorous
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